Ultra-sustainable Paints inspired by Birds, Blooms and Bedrock unveiled by Lorna Syson

As we become increasingly concerned about what impact decorative materials we choose for our homes can have on our environment, we welcome news of carbon neutral paints that appeal to environmentally-conscious interior designers, decorators, contractors and consumers.


Just announced this autumn is textile designer Lorna Syson's newly launched paint palettes - namely Birds, Blooms and Bedrock - her first collaboration with paint company Graphenstone, a manufacturer of ultra-sustainable paint based in Norfolk, UK.  

The carbon dioxide absorbing, energy saving durable paints are derived from raw natural mineral limestone.  The paints are infused with graphene, the strongest material known to science, and it enhances hardness, durability, compression, tensile strength, elasticity and coverage by forming a transparent nano-level mesh which is fully encapsulated within the paint.


Derived from raw natural mineral limestone, graphenstone paints are carbon neutral as the paints cure over their lifetime, each square metre absorbs 120 grams of carbon dioxide from the local environment.


The paints are infused with graphene, the strongest material known to science, and it enhances hardness, durability, compression, tensile strength, elasticity and coverage of the paints by forming a transparent nano-level mesh which is fully encapsulated within the paints.  These qualities result in significant savings in materials consumption, maintenance, manpower, time-to-completion and overall costs.


The Graphenstone by Lorna Syson palettes feature exclusive colours mixed to Lorna's specifications at Graphenstone's new factory in Norfolk, UK.  They are consistent with the ecological themes of Lorna's designs and offer the perfect setting for her fabrics and housewares.

Paint in Coral on wall from Graphenstone by Lorna Syson forms a

formidable setting for Lorna Syson's Hummingbird fabrics and

homewares created in collaboration with the 

Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) charity.

The Birds palette includes the colours Cockatoo, Heron and Kingfisher.  The Blooms palette feature Cotton, Iris, Meadow and Silver Brunia; while the Bedrock palette is composed of Chalk, Coral, Jade and Zinc.  


"Lorna's direction has enabled us to produce unique colours that represent the simplified beauty of the British outdoors.  She pulled through a couple of neutrals as base colours for Graphenstone by Lorna Syson, but she has also highlighted the pinks and greens in the palettes, drawing out the coral, teal and mint which are trending for 2019/2020," said Graphenstone's UK Managing Director, Patrick Folkes.

Hello Birdie - Lorna Syson's new autumn range teaming up with RSPB

British textile designer Lorna Syson is known for her contemporary bird motifs as an integral part of her signature design style.  Her inspirational take on the British countryside and her ability to bring out the beauty of nature has made her prints for wallpaper and designs for home soft furnishing ever popular, and her new autumn range brings focus on two typical birds popular both in the UK and other parts of the world..


At the Top Drawer and Decorex International trade fairs held at London’s Olympia in Kensington in September and October respectively, Lorna Syson announced she is celebrating 10 years in business this autumn with a collaboration with the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) to create a new collection inspired by her favourite birds and their habitats.  

The two new fabric patterns feature two favourite British birds, the long tailed tits and hummingbirds, well chosen to celebrate the important work the RSPB do protecting birds here and abroad.  
The Blossom & Bird design shown above, in classic tones of navy, grey and soft pink, features pretty long-tailed Tits perching on English cherry blossoms.  
For the Hummingbird design below, Lorna has chosen vivid tones of teal and mint as a backdrop for her majestic hummingbirds hovering amongst honeysuckle.

The range includes curtains, furnishing fabrics, cushions and lampshades.  Made in cotton, all fabric is made and digitally printed in the UK.  The items will be available from RSPB stores and website, and from Lorna Syson's website, and 10% of sales will go to the charity.

Long-tailed Tits and Hummingbirds are popular species both here and abroad and Lorna's work with the RSPB help to raise awareness of the RSPB's work in the UK and around the world, where they run conservation projects across Africa and Asia.  

Inspiring hand-woven contemporary textiles enrich modern lives.

Thanks to modern technology, our daily life has become more efficient, and thus we should be left with more time to slow down and admire crafts that are lovingly made by hand.  As we wake up to the global crisis of throw-away plastics, hand-crafted home furnishing textiles remind us the joy of appreciating things that take time to make and indeed can last a long time.

At 100% Design trade fair in London, held in September at Olympia in Kensington, I met woven textile designer Pamela Print who had her weaving loom set up in her stand so she could demonstrate her craft.  She is the genius behind her wonderful hand-woven furnishing textile collection that included wall hangings, throws and cushions that she produces for her own brand.  

As a designer and weaver who is passionate about sustainability, Pamela Print is keen to demonstrate her eco credentials, as all her products are totally sustainable as her products are all in 100% wool.  

For example, the cushions front is made in merino lambswool and the back fabric  is in Harris Tweed while for the filling she uses eco-friendly British fleece (Dorset Horn.)

Pamela graduated from Central Saint Martins in London with a BA in Textile Design, and is an alumni of TexSelect (a London-based charity that nurtured and promoted UK textile graduates for some 50 years) through her career was launched 14 years ago after particpating at Premiere Vision trade fair in Paris.

Pamela worked for many years in textile and garment supply companies like Dewhirst and for top brands and retailers including Topshop and Marks & Spencer - before relocating to Brussels for seven years.  Recently she and family decided to move back to the UK.  

But Pamela has brought Brussels back with her through her geometric patterns that were inspired by architecture in Brussels with art deco influences.  But while on the loom, ideas are developed, she said.

With a studio set up outside London in the historical village of Writtle where her designs are developed and sampled, she has also got an agreement with Bristol Weaving Mill where small batches can be produced to order.

Also exhibiting at 100% Design was Lydia Forman, whose hand-woven upholstery fabric designs won her a place in the Design Fresh area of the trade fair held in September at Kensington Olympia in London.  

Lydia was one of 30 designers selected by curator Barbara Chandler, design editor of Homes & Property at the London Evening Standard, to showcase their breakthrough design talent. 

Lydia brings a vibrant modern aesthetic to complex traditional weaving skills, creating cushions, upholstery fabrics, hangings, and flatweave rugs in yarns that include cotton, silk and Lurex.   

She juxtaposes geometric structures with bright floral colours. Weights and textures are explored using different yarns and weaving techniques.

Inspiration ranges from the colours of Kew Gardens to the rigid repeating facades of contemporary architecture.  To showcase some of her colourful textile products was a vintage Ercol sofa and chair  at 100% Design which were covered in her fabrics.        

A graduate of Loughborough University this year with a BA degree in Textiles: Innovation and Design, specialising in Woven Textiles, Lydia Forman was also awarded First Prize in the 2019 Loughborough University Enterprise Award.

All photos by Lucia Carpio.

Floor cushions inspired by Moroccan terracotta tiles

Silk twill and velvet zellige print Moroccan floor cushion

BIVAIN, founded by Megha Lohia and Rachel Fong, are celebrating the rich culture of Morocco by capturing the distinctive patterns of Moroccan terracotta tiles on silk Zellige Indigo tasselled cushions featuring coloured circle overlays on the zellige design.

The design was inspired by Moroccan Zellige floor tiles.   The cushions comes in three colourways. 

With dimensions of 25” x 25” (63 cm x 63 cm) the cushions can be used as floor cushions or oversized cushion

Irregular shade variations and geometric flaws in the tiles give character to the pattern.

Founded in 2016, BIVAIN is a contemporary interior and accessories brand offering objects of desire with an edge, according to the Central Saint Martins-trained designers Megha Lohia and Rachel Fong, who worked for brands including Agent Provocateur and Zac Posen prior to launching the London-based brand BIVAIN  derived from the words ‘to be vain’

Specialising in cushions and pocket squares, the collections are exclusively produced by highly-skilled craftsmen using the finest materials, said the designers who "draw inspiration from the sensory experiences of international wanderlust."

Colours and Vibes of Mexico by way of Frida Kahlo

The Frida Kahlo effect in fashion and interior designs continues today following the successful exhibition of the iconic designer at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London last year, along with the colourful influence of Mexico.

Above: Frida Kahlo™ cushion, paper cups and plates available at Talking Tables.

From Talking Tables' Boho range of tableware and accessories comes an Aztec-inspired palette of bold, punchy brights, taking inspiration from Mexico's rich culture and history and paying homage to Frida Kahlo's brazen spirit and iconic style, with trompe l'oeil embroidery, fold-style geometrics, naïve florals and lavishly costumed llamas, as well as the artist Frida herself, emblazoned across lanterns paper plates, cups and napkins.  The Frida effect to the max.

Meanwhile London based designer and photographer Jacqui Sinnatt, founder of the St Agnes Eve brand has created a new range of silk scarves with her signature approach. The designer said her new "The Frida" silk scarf collection was created after visiting the exhibition.  She said the big, bold flowers and bright colours reflect Frida's passion for life, vibrant paintings and colourful dress style, the stone texture and border design reference Frida's disabilities and the hardship she suffered throughout her life.

These scarfs are available in four colourways: Chilli Red as shown above, as well as Tropical Orange, Sky Blue Pink and Turquoise and Lime, printed in the UK onto a light crepe de chine at 134 cm square with hand-finished hand rolled edges.  Bold statements for this summer.

Walls imitating Art.

Now that the Christmas and New Year decorations are coming down, the rooms can look a bit bare and empty.    Why not give your interior a fresh new look for the new year.

A new collection of expressionist wallpaper murals from Wallsauce.com can do just that.  These murals are by contemporary British artist Anne Farall Doyle who had spent her early career at an advertising agency before gaining international recognition as a freelance figurative and fashion artist.  Anne was born in Cheshire, England, and a selection of her latest 10-piece collection is shown here.


Anne begins with careful planning, sketching and sourcing materials, then creates her art before building momentum around the canvas focussing on memories and emotions.

The murals are ideal for creating a dramatic feature wall in any room.  Each features a variety of colourful abstract designs she created using oils and various other mixed media.

They can be sourced from Wallsauce.com, available on a choice of wallpaper materials, including past-the-wall wallpapers and a peel and stick wallpaper.

Images from Wallsauce.com

Sofa - bed: Tom Dixon X Ikea

All those fashion shows to review, we need a lie down.  Or at least somewhere to sit.

The answer could come in the form of the DELAKTIG - the result of a collaboration between British enfant terrible designer Tom Dixon and the world’s biggest furniture company Ikea.

Described as a durable, transformable platform for living – DELAKTIG was launched in Milan a couple of weeks’ ago.  It is a sofa that also functions as a bed.  

According to Tom Dixon, the bed is the most important furniture we need in our life.  As many of us now work from home, we can certainly relate to that.  More often than ever, we bring our work into our bed with us, sitting up at odd hours to pour through our emails and social media platforms using our electronic devices to communicate with colleagues, clients, loved ones, friends, contacts in different parts of the world.

Tom Dixon has come up with the concept of making the bed work harder for us as to him it is the only indispensable piece of furniture, the primary unit of home furnishing.

Together with IKEA, Tom decided to create a super-durable aluminium frame that could be constantly updated or upgraded as your life and needs evolve.   At its most basic, DELAKTIG is a single bed - rapidly transformable into a chaise lounge or a three seat sofa by adding additional components.

Contributing to a global community of IKEA hackers that already edit and modify IKEA designs for every-day life, Tom and IKEA began work with the world’s most innovative art schools to see if DELAKTIG, rather than being a complete finished piece of furniture, could be the start of something much bigger - a kind of ecosystem with unlimited possibilities. The results were diverse and inspiring.

In response, Tom Dixon has created heavy-weight task lamps, coffee tables and magazine racks that can be clamped, slotted or bolted on at will, to mutate the sofa into a work or entertainment space. Made of substantial and durable aluminium plate the hacks are robust enough to last a lifetime.

Tom Dixon also collaborated with Bemz who specialize in soft hacks to produce three luxe covers that elevate the IKEA frame into a luxury unit – from Shower-proof stripes to an Icelandic sheepskin mono-cover known as ‘The Beast’.

So, this is the plan - you can go to IKEA and you can buy yourself a bed. If you want, you can add components to make it into a sofa. Once you’ve got this bed sofa you can add on Tom's hacks, other people’s hacks, or you can hack it yourself.    Presently, the hacks are available from tomdixon.net in the UK and Europe only.

Decorex and London Design Fair join forces for London Design Festival 2017

Decorex, the London trade fair for interior design, and the London Design Fair will partner for London Design Festival 2017, offering visitors a broader perspective on design. Both events explore different aspects of the design community and through this enhanced experience, they are encouraging audiences to engage in an even wider discussion on the emerging trends and topics facing the industry today.

The collaboration between two complementary shows will see both present their exhibitions consecutively, with Decorex opening between 17 and 20 September and the London Design Fair from 21 to 24 September. Drawing on the synergies between the two, retail buyers, specifiers, architects, interior designers and design devotees can consider the many diverse facets of a range of contemporary interiors. A pass for either show will be valid at both, which means that visitors will be able to access two major destinations of the London Design Festival for virtually the entire festival. In addition, the partnership will be promoted on social media, with both shows picking their highlights from each event.

Decorex is celebrating 40 years of design this year as the opening destination of the London Design Festival. Established in 1978, Decorex is known as the resource for high-end interior designers, architects, specifiers, retailers and property developers. Boasting more than 400 exhibitors from leading names to emerging talents, this annual four-day show takes place each September in the prestigious location of Syon Park. Attracting nearly 14,000 visitors from across the globe, Decorex 2017 will be exploring design collaborations as this year’s show theme by focusing both on the strength of its past and current relationships and importantly looking towards those future partnerships.







Photos: Decorex 2016 by Lucia Carpio


As for the London Design Fair, it is located in Shoreditch, the creative heart of London.
Launched in 2007, it is a four-day industry event that brings together 500 exhibitors from 28 countries, including; independent designers, established brands, international country pavilions, features, and exhibitions.  Each year, over 27,000 influential retail buyers, producers, architects, interior designers, press, designers, and design-savvy public will attend to see the very latest in furniture, lighting, textiles, materials, and conceptual installations, all from around the world.

Retro bicycle bar stool add pedal charm to any cool interiors

While the weather is warming up, everyone is finding an excuse to be outside.  In recent years cycling has become a hugely popular national pastime here in the UK for all ages, with the likes of sporting heroes Sir Bradley Wiggins and Sir Chris Hoy proving as worthy ambassadors of the sport.
Now retro British company Smithers of Stamford based in Cambridgeshire has found a way to bring that cycling passion indoors.

Being a furniture brand, Smithers of Stamford showcase many bicycle themed products and retro furniture, but their vintage bicycle bar stool has to stand out.

Although the Yellow Jersey and a puncture repair kit are not included,  the bike stool - handmade using reclaimed old bike parts - brings loads of pedal driven urban charm.  

While enjoying a tall glass of smoothie or that much deserved sun-downer, one can sit comfortably on the tan leather gazelle saddle seat rest our feat on the original pedal. The battered rustic steel leg framework, Federal tyre and even the occasional bike chain will take your interior style up a gear.

CABANA - unique magazine for those who love beautiful things

While there is so much information out there constantly available to entice us on the internet, or on the streets of great cities, in retail shops and book stores everywhere, I was pleasantly surprised to be drawn to a unique magazine that has given me much food for thought; so much pleasure by simply touching it and flipping through its pages.
After strolling through the aisles of the London Print Design Fair looking for print trends and inspiration, I came upon one unique magazine under the title Cabana displayed by Chelsea-based exhibitor Potterton Books London.

One of the four limited edition covers designed by Gucci for the Spring-Summer 2016 issue of Cabana magazine.

Beautifully printed in Milan, the current Spring-Summer 2016 edition features four different limited edition fabric covers which were designed by the luxury fashion house Gucci.

"It's like being part of a tribe.  A tribe of those who love beautiful things."

As editor-in-chief and founder Martina Mondadori Sartogo explained in her foreword, the ethos of Gucci is reflected through the pages of Cabana.

She quoted Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele's thoughts on the very new and very striking brand identity he is moulding: "It's like being part of a tribe.  A tribe of those who love beautiful things."
Alessandro Michele of Gucci had not only done the covers of this Spring-Summer 2016 edition of Cabana, but also helped to shape and conceive one of the portfolios on Roman architectural history.
Potterton Books explained that Cabana was a rare find for them: they had got word of it through an interior designer in New York.  Like a coveted commodity, Cabana is stylishly elegant, and my personal copy (shown in picture above) shall be treated as a coffee-table objet d'art rather than just a magazine.  The pages are like art galleries showcasing the homes and work places of art collectors themselves, or historial architecture that have provided inspiration for contemporary styles.
The photographs don't just show interior designs but present details of houses and buildings in artistic intimacy.

But don't expect to find exhaustive information on every detail as one would in conventional magazines.  The editors want readers "to be inspired, to start travelling with your mind to that place, like visual storytelling."

Cabana is published twice a year in English.

Photos: Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect Global.